Eggplant Steaks With Pumpkin Tomato And Mushroom Ragoût Recipes

Steps:

• Roast shallots, tomatoes, and pumpkin:
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Toss shallots and tomatoes with 3 tablespoons oil in a large roasting pan and season with salt. Roast until tomatoes are tender but not falling apart, about 25 minutes. Transfer tomatoes only to a large bowl.
• Add pumpkins with salt to taste to shallots, tossing to coat with oil in pan. Roast until pumpkins are just tender, about 30 minutes, then add vegetables to tomatoes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 200°F.
• Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners. Add water and 1/2 cup wine and deglaze by boiling over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up any brown bits. Reserve liquid.
• Cook soybeans while vegetables roast:
• Cook soybeans in boiling salted water until just tender, about 1 minute (3 minutes for lima beans), then drain. When cool enough to handle, shell soybeans, discarding pods.
• Prepare eggplant:
• Cut 2 (2-inch-thick) crosswise slices, or "steaks," from thickest part of each eggplant and season generously with salt and pepper. (Reserve remaining eggplant for another use.) Brown 3 eggplant steaks in 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, about 5 minutes on each side.
• Add 1/4 cup wine to skillet and simmer, covered, turning once, until eggplant is very tender and wine is absorbed, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a small roasting pan. (If wine is absorbed before eggplant is tender, add water, a few tablespoons at a time, and continue cooking until tender.) Repeat with remaining 3 eggplant steaks. Keep eggplant warm, uncovered, in oven.
• Make ragout:
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté mushrooms with garlic, rosemary, and salt to taste, stirring, until golden and any liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Stir in reserved deglazing liquid and simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Add roasted vegetables and soybeans and cook, stirring, until heated through. Stir in vinegar.
• Serve eggplant steaks topped with vegetable ragout.

Steps:

• Sprinkle the eggplant with 1 tablespoon salt and drain in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse, pat dry and cut in 1/4-inch dice.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the eggplant, peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and cover. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and cook, uncovered, stirring, for 5 minutes. Season with 1 tablespoon salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the basil and let sit for 5 minutes before serving with pasta or polenta.

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.
• Pat steak dry. Mix together salt and pepper in a small bowl, then rub three fourths of salt mixture on both sides of steak.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté meat, turning over once, 6 to 8 minutes total for rare (depending on thickness of steak). Transfer to a baking pan and keep warm in oven while making ragout.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in uncleaned skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic, rosemary, and red-pepper flakes, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and remaining salt mixture and sauté, stirring frequently and scraping up any brown bits, until mushrooms are tender but still juicy, 6 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice and sugar, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about two thirds, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Transfer steak to a cutting board and pour any meat juices from baking pan into mushroom ragout. Holding knife at a 45-degree angle, cut steak across the grain into thin slices. Serve topped with ragout.